We’ve already spotted it on new bikes from Borealis and Rocky Mountain, and now Rockshox has formally introduced the Bluto fat bike suspension fork.

Fat bikes may very well be the only reason we see new 26″ forks this year, but that doesn’t mean the wheel size isn’t bringing a bit of fresh design. Especially since more people are finding non-snow uses for their porky pedalers. Built using Rockshox’s existing technologies -Rapid Recovery Rebound, Solo Air, Fast Black stanchions and their 15mm Maxle Light- the body of the fork was tweaked to handle the girth and forces of 4.8″ tires. Travel options are 80mm, 100mm and 120mm, controlled with external rebound and lockout controls. The latter is available with the crown topping blue lever or their PushLoc handlebar remote.

Heft yourself past the break for more…

As suspected, it introduces a 15×150 front axle standard with this wider version of their Maxle Lite. Steerer is tapered only, and it has a 51mm offset.

Aftermarket color is black. OEM customers will be able to get White or “Diffusion Black”.

Stanchions are 32mm, so it’ll work with their Bottomless Tokens to tune the progression of the spring rate. Up to three tokens can thread into the top cap, reducing air volume for a steeper ramp up during compression.

Target weight is a very respectable 1796g (3.96lb), and MSRP is $643 / €572 for the base model, and $711 / €632 with the PushLoc remote.

Your rigid fat bike friends may be eatin’ their spinach, but Bluto will help you pound ‘em on the trail.

@Mindless – Red for rebound is a pretty well established “standard” amongst suspension manufacturers. And Rock Shox’s locokut levers have been blue for quite some time. No surprises for me here

Hotep - 04/10/14 - 6:16pm

Love it, but why yet another standard? 150mm front end? I would HATE to be in the bike headset, bottom bracket or hub aspects of the bike industry. Everybody appears to be “outstandarding” everybody else. I don’t even work in the bike business and I think it’s completely insane.

Mindless - 04/10/14 - 6:21pm

Fat bikes standards development just does the same thing as regular bikes went over 30 years – but in 5 years. How many headset dimensions we had?

There is a pretty good reason for this size – 5″ tires and straight stanchions on suspension. It is just a hub, and not like it uses some proprietary spokes and stuff, or only available on pre-built wheels – like RS-1 hub; now that is an innovation we do not need.

norras - 04/10/14 - 8:13pm

@mindless rebound knobs are always red, and compression knobs are always blue on pretty much every fork ever, barring a few, of course. It’s just the way it is, and always has been

CtoF - 04/10/14 - 9:19pm

Looks sweet! Interesting choice for stanchions though, why not go with the 35mm’s? This seems like an application where a larger stanchion would really be a bike benefit controlling the gyroscopic forces of the bigger wheel. Other than that, I LOVE IT.

Patrick - 04/10/14 - 10:50pm

There’s a saying:
Rebound is red, compression is blue, except on manitou

Tim R - 04/11/14 - 12:04am

#%%#}
I just spent a grand building a set of hope fatsno hubs up, havent even got my frame yet, and they’re already useless.

@tim r.- if the wheels were useful before, then they’re still useful now. You didn’t need a sus fork when you built the wheels but now that one is available you juat have to have it, huh?

Tim R - 04/11/14 - 9:22am

@gerald
No, I needed a suspension fork when I built them, we just didn’t foresee RS utterly ditching what til now has been a pretty well settled upon 170/135 combo and only offering this, rendering all wheels and hubs before it incompatible.

I could put a rigid fork on the rear suspended frame I’m having built right now. That’ll ride awesome. Thanks for your assistance.

gerald t. - 04/11/14 - 12:24pm

@tim r.- none of these fatbike standards had been settled on. You jumped the gun- sorry.

yahsper - 04/11/14 - 5:37pm

So will there be a temperature limit this fork can be used in? Seems a bit overkill for fat bikes where we ride them, but good option for those with upgradeitus disease…

Ham-planet - 04/11/14 - 11:28pm

@Tim
So you were centring your build around a component that doesn’t exist? You really only have yourself to blame for this.

denny - 04/14/14 - 1:17pm

why on earth does no one care WHEN this fork is coming out!! i want it now

Sybrand - 05/21/14 - 3:43pm

the push lock remote, it looks like a reverb remote, is this available in right hand or left hand like the reverb? anybody know

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